Tales of the OttoMac Electric Cabin
A long time ago in a galaxy far far away…..
Jamie McCoy (Iguanas Bassist) and myself organized and promoted some all ages punkrock shows in Topeka. (This was met with resistance from….just about everyone, cops, christians, chosey mothers, the No Fun Club, and even other punks who seemed more mad that WE were doing such shows than anything else.)
1985 we brought in Black Flag (W Tom Troccolis Dog and Swa) and did the show at a seedy little community hall in east Topeka, the PBG Hall. The show did OK. The cops showed up and dragged me outside and threw me up against the side of the building and acted like i had just strangled the Lindbergh Baby. The cops were really angry that we were doing this show. They threatened to arrest me and handcuffed me and threw me in the back of their patrol car, and then they just let me go and they took off. Perfect! Whats a Black Flag show without the cops showing up and trying to fuck everything over? I think every Black Flag show i ever saw (And that would be dozens and dozens) there was some kind of cop action and pigs showing up and trying to shut the show down or hassling the punks.
Well Black Flag had a rare day off on their tour, and they wanted to just go somewhere and relax and hang out and NOT be in the midst of some scenester party.
Well Jamies family had a cabin out at Lake Pamona (“Sail Away Estates”, just past the missile silos, right on the water.) So we took the bands out there. They were in 3 vans, and a white box truck if I remember. We stopped for groceries on the way out there. I remember Henry in the fresh produce isle holding two cantaloups and comparing which one was ripe, So I walked up beside him and started singing “Cant decide, I cant decide, I cant decide…anything!” And Henry looked at me and did his weird smirk and said “Ok yeah, right, ha ha.” and walked away…..I thought it was funny. I bought a bunch of hotdogs and buns and condiments.
Then we headed on out to Jamies cabin. We got out there and the electricity had been shut off. And Jamie got on the phone and called the electric company and bitched at them. In the mean time He Who Shall Remain Nameless Rat shimmied up the phone pole with a pair of vice grips and a railroad spike and drove it into the clips where the circuit breakers had been removed. And there was LIGHT!
And 15 minutes later, the power company who said it would take them 2 days to get out to turn the juice back on showed up wth the sheriff. and they were awfully pissed off about the situation. But then He Who Rat stepped up and like a silver tonged devil who really seemed to know how to talk to authority types and be pragmatic talked to them a bit, and next thing we new the electric company went up the pole and turned on the juice officially, and they dismissed the rather disappointed sheriff….and the party started.
And the next thing I knew, Kira Roessler(Bassist Black Flag) had grabbed my Weinie. well, she grabbed ALL of my wieners, and they had a little food fight I was kinda bummed. They were vegans, and didnt approve of my meat. I walked around and picked up most of my hotdogs, grilled them sterile and ate them, and Kira laughed at me.
Greg Ginn sat on the back balcony of the cabin with his 4-track and noodled on his guitar. I think he was working up songs that ended up on his next GONE album. Some of the crew just hit the hay in the bunks downstairs and had a nice long sleep that theyd been deprived of.
Henry Rollins walked along the shore of the lake turning over rocks and staring intently at the creepy crawly things that slithered and skittered out from under their rocks. Then he went inside where there was a big stack of National Geographic magazines and started reading them, and occasionally holding up an open page and pointing at a picture and saying “That would make a cool tattoo”.
The entire entourage seemed to have a mellow, good time.
There was a community swimming pool nearby that we got to through a short walk through some woods. Jamie and I told the band to watch out for “chiggers”, and the band had never heard of this, so we told them they were like badgers that lived in the woods and would attack….LOL
Then as we swam in the pool, someone off in the woods started throwing rocks at us. I think it was other cabin owners who did not approve of these freaky punker long haired Charles Manson mutherfuggers swimming in “their” pool. I thought there was going to be a fight, but the rock throwers retreated and left after yelling a few undesirable words.
The next day the bands packed up and headed off to their next gig, which Jamie and I also followed them to.
Anyway, here is Kira Roessler in a hammock, and a pic of Henry Rollins reading National Geographics inside the cabin with two people i think might be Dave Rat and someone else.
Henry Rollins reading National Geographic magazines, not entire sure who the other two guys where.
Kira Roessler, Black Flag Bassist, grinning in her hammock, after grabbing my wiener and throwing it around the yard. I had 2 5″ wienies, but I guess she was looking for a 10 and a half……